


Better Than the Alternative

by JustAnotherGuest



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Free the Boy!, Gen, Set during Jimhunters, Why won't Jim's armor come off?, i hope this is disproved in Wizards, it is illegal to sell sheep organs in the USA so haggis alternatives must be used
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:08:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23822821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherGuest/pseuds/JustAnotherGuest
Summary: In which we find out what happened to Jim during his first full day as a troll, Javier bribes Merlin with haggis, and Mrs Domzalski finds someone to help her move the body.
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Better Than the Alternative

“Have you seen Jim?” Claire peers into the room, face pale and drawn. She's tapping the handle of her staff against her leg. Tap tap tap. The shadows under her eyes are filled with a month's worth of exhaustion and Javier wants to bundle up his little girl and soothe the worry away.

Javier sets down the cookbook he's been thumbing through, bookmarking the section for lamb. “Not since Wednesday. Is something wrong?”

Claire bites her lip, a conflict of anger, sorrow, and then determination raging behind her eyes. “Merlin turned Jim into a troll,” she blurts out. “And Dr. Lake is freaking out and everyone is freaking out and I'm freaking out because Jim was showing off, and he's so big and tall now, and everything seemed okay, but I lost him and he didn't come back, and I still can't find him and it's been hours and I'm sure he's freaking out too, or did he just run away or did something happen? And Merlin has been the opposite of helpful and he just keeps saying that everything is fine, but I know he's hiding something and I just…” she trails off, blinking angrily.

Javier leans against the counter. “Merlin huh?” He scratches at his beard, thinking back on the old man who had wandered into his kitchen looking for haggis three days ago.

Claire collapses into a chair borrowed from the mayor in lieu of all their furniture disappearing. She runs a hand down her face. “Yeah, Merlin seemed okay at first, though he's really kind of a butt. And he keeps going on about haggis. But he made Toby and me armour, and we were going to go take down Gunmar, but now… and with Morganna doing who knows what, and Jim gone… I don't know.”

Javier walks over and rests a steadying hand on her shoulder. “If anyone is going to find Jim, it'll be you. I'm sure it'll be alright. Jim has his armor and you to protect him. I know that you'd follow him to the ends of the earth, no matter what happens to him.”

Claire sniffs a little. “Thanks papi. If Jim comes by, let me know.” She wraps him in a brief hug before twirling her staff and leaping into the rent of darkness.

Javier's smile turns into a brief grimace of guilt before he turns back to his recipe and the pot of boiling water. If this works, he'll make the old wizard more haggis than he'll know what to do with.

There's a ring and a knock from the front door.

When Javier opens the door, Detective Scott is panting on the porch steps, leaning over a wheelbarrow full of large, lump filled bag. Mrs Domzowski is standing next to him, smiling.

“And this prop,” the Detective gasps, dragging a palm over his sweaty brow, "is going to be used at our next rehearsal?”

“Oh yes. That bossy young man with the little metal hat said that this one is essential.” She turns to Javier. “Oh, hello Javier! I enlisted some help!”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Domzalski, Mr. Scott,” Javier says. “I'll go open the garage and you can roll it in.”

.-.-.

Javier is just finishing a final wipe down of the counters when a certain armoured wizard joins him in the kitchen.

“Finally,” says the wizard. “That young lady with no teeth said that she managed to get the package here with no problems. I had my doubts."

Merlin pulls Jim's amulet from a seam in his armour. “Here we are,” he says, pulling out a familiar yellow hair clip. “Fair Claire's adornment should be tuned to the amulet's magic by now. And as for my haggis?”

Javier pats the giant cooler on the table.

Merlin rubs his hands together and peeks inside, inhaling deeply. “It'll do,” says the wizard. He hands the clip to Javier, and Javier slips it in his pocket. “When Claire and Jim get back, you can give her that. Or give it to his mother and let her deal with it, I don't care. It'll deactivate the amulet and the armour, and the trollhunter can get around to whatever he wants to do in his spare time. Until then, the armour will keep him safe, it'll keep Claire safe, it's a win win.”

The wizard leads the way out to the garage, where a very blue trollish creature, clearly unconscious, is lying on the large bag that had previously filled the wheelbarrow.

Though judging by the skinny legs poking out from the ends of now high-water pants, he looks suspiciously human from the waist down, give or take a few toes.

Merlin takes the amulet and pushes it against Jim's chest, and a set of black armour wraps itself around the boy, filling the garage with a red glow.

The wizard dusts off his hands. “And that's that. Let him out when it gets dark, will you?” He steps around Javier into the house, and the scrape of the heavy cooler is shortly followed by the slam of the front door.

Javier nods appreciatively at the very cool armour and twirls the hairclip between his fingers.

The (admittedly, slightly rude) wizard had come by the house 3 days ago, telling Javier and his dear Ophelia that Claire would be joining Jim and him on a cross country trip after they defeated Morganna. (He had said this as he was raiding their cupboards, Ophelia holding a broom and looking like she was ready to sweep him out onto the street) Ophelia had had some- choice, words to say about that, especially since the wizard had made to leave right after his announcement, arms filled with canned beets and several bags of potato chips.

Merlin had assured them that he'd be supervising them the whole time. (Which is more than the kids have had within recent memory, but still.) Young boys and girls can have very strong feelings for each other, and with Claire's track record of sneaking out and lying, paired with Merlin's apparent disregard for everything except himself, something would have to be done.

He loves his little princess, and wants what's best for her. And running around with a very tall, young and strapping, magic touched boy who Claire has already claimed as her boyfriend is not something he wants to allow without some… precautions.

Javier tucks the hairclip into his pocket with satisfaction, ready to give it back to Claire when she and Jim return.

end


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